Cultural Forms of Protest in Russia

Alongside the Arab Spring, the 'Occupy' anti-capitalist movements in the West, and the events on the Maidan in Kiev, Russia has had its own protest movements, notably the political protests of 2011–12. As elsewhere in the world, these protests had unlikely origins, in Russia’s case spearheaded by the 'creative class'. This book examines the protest movements in Russia. It discusses the artistic traditions from which the movements arose; explores the media, including the internet, film, novels, and fashion, through which the protesters have expressed themselves; and considers the outcome of the movements, including the new forms of nationalism, intellectualism, and feminism put forward. Overall, the book shows how the Russian protest movements have suggested new directions for Russian – and global – politics.

Introduction, Alexander Etkind Part I: Origins and Traditions of Protest 1. Fathers, Sons, and Grandsons: Generational Changes and Political Trajectory of Russia, 1989–2012, Vladimir Gel'man 2. Dissidents Reloaded? Anti-Putin Activists and the Soviet Legacy, Valentina Parisi 3. Why ‘Two Russias’ are Less than ‘United Russia’. Cultural Distinctions and Political Similarities: Dialectics of Defeat, Ilya Kalinin 4. Are Copycats Subversive? Strategy-31, the Russian Runs, the Immortal Regiment and the Transformative Potential of Non-Hierarchical Movements, Mischa Gabowitsch 5. Political Consumerism in Russia after 2011, Olga Gurova 6. Even the Toys are Demanding Free Elections: Humour and the Politics of Creative Protest in Russia, Jennifer G. Mathers Part II: Artistic and Performative Forms of Protest 7. Biopolitics, Believers, Bodily Protests: The Case of Pussy Riot, Alexandra Yatsyk 8. Hysteria or Enjoyment? Recent Russian Actionism, Jonathan Brooks Platt 9. Bleep and ***: Speechless Protest, Birgit Beumers 10. On the (Im)Possibility of a Third Opinion, Kristina Norman 11. Performing Poetry and Protest in the Age of Digital Reproduction, Marijeta Bozovic 12. When Satire Does Not Subvert: Citizen Poet as Nostalgia for Soviet Dissidence, Sanna Turoma

Birgit Beumers is Professor of Film Studies at Aberystwyth University, Wales, UK. Alexander Etkind is Professor of the History of Russia–Europe Relations at the European University Institute, Florence, Italy. Olga Gurova is a Research Fellow in the Department of Social Research at the University of Helsinki, Finland. Sanna Turoma is a Senior Research Fellow at the Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland.